Trump Warns Putin Plans to Retaliate 'Very Strongly' Against Ukraine
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Vladimir Putin intends to retaliate 'very strongly' against Ukraine for a surprise drone strike on Russian airfields over the weekend, a declaration that provoked alarm in Washington and abroad even as Trump touted his efforts to bring peace to the region.
The revelation came in a social media post shortly after Trump spoke with the Russian President for more than an hour by phone—a call he described as 'a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.' In his statement, Trump appeared to accept Putin's warning at face value and offered no indication that he had urged restraint.
'President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to Ukraine's surprise drone strike that targeted five Russian airbases and damaged or destroyed at least 41 military aircraft, including strategic bombers. The Ukrainian operation, which spanned five time zones and caused an estimated $7 billion in damage, marked one of Kyiv's boldest assaults deep inside Russian territory since the war began more than three years ago.
Read More: Ukraine's Drone Strikes Against Russia Could Become the Global Norm
Trump's post briefly vanished from his platform before reappearing later on Wednesday, prompting speculation about whether he had second thoughts about its tone. The White House has not released a transcript of the call or clarified whether Trump pushed back on Putin's vow to retaliate or offered support to Ukraine.
The statement was Trump's first public comment on the drone strikes, which many experts saw as a significant blow to Russia. While Trump has long promised he could end the war quickly—even before he took office—his latest interaction with Putin did little to clarify how. Instead, some Democrats say it underscored his continued reluctance to criticize the Russian leader, even in the face of a threatened escalation that could cost more Ukrainian lives.
Read More: Trump Discovers the War in Ukraine May Be Too Complicated to Fix
'Trump is being played,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who met with Ukrainian delegates on Wednesday morning, told TIME in an interview. 'I'm disappointed that Trump didn't come down on him and say there's no need for you to respond. No Russian was injured or killed in this operation. Sure, it makes you look bad, because it's humiliating. But there's no reason you need to kill people by bombing Ukrainian civilians, which is what you're planning to do.'
Trump's silence on Putin's threats contrasted with a growing bipartisan push in the Senate to impose severe new sanctions on Russia. A recent sanctions bill co-authored by Blumenthal and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina would slap massive penalties—including 500% tariffs—on any country buying Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. The legislation is aimed squarely at China and India, which bankroll much of Russia's war economy, and is supported by more than 80 Senators.
'That's what Trump could have said to Putin for starters,' Blumenthal told TIME. 'I'm supporting sanctions on anybody who buys your energy product.'
But Trump has so far refused to endorse the measure. He has mused about sanctions, but remains skeptical that economic pressure will end the war—particularly if it jeopardizes his efforts to broker a broader foreign policy agenda, including curbing Iran's nuclear program.
In the same post where he described Putin's planned reprisal against Ukraine, Trump expressed optimism about working with the Russian leader to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei criticized the U.S. proposal for a deal.
'I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement,' Trump wrote. 'President Putin suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion.'
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, described Trump's willingness to let Putin help secure a nuclear deal with Iran as the 'total opposite of what has been traditional U.S. policy—actually standing with democracies,' he said in an interview with TIME. 'Are you really gonna tell me somebody's gonna take the word of Vladimir Putin? I'll tell you, somebody—that's a fool.'
Blumenthal added: 'I wouldn't trust Putin to mediate or negotiate anything on my behalf.'
The phone call between Trump and Putin came as the war, which has dragged on for nearly 3.5 years, shows no signs of abating despite mounting pressure for a diplomatic breakthrough. While the front lines have largely frozen since late last year, the latest wave of Ukrainian attacks—and Russia's vow to retaliate—have renewed fears of a broader escalation. In addition to last weekend's drone strikes, Ukraine's security agency said it had detonated explosives beneath the Kerch Bridge—a critical Russian supply line to Crimea. Russian officials denied the bridge was damaged, but said that its troops had taken another village in Ukraine's Sumy region, part of an effort to create a buffer zone on the border.
Read more: How Putin Missed His Shot at Peace
The Ukrainian government has dismissed Russia's latest offers for a ceasefire as a stalling tactic. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday labeled the Kremlin's latest proposal 'an ultimatum' and derided the second round of peace talks in Turkey as 'a political performance.'
Trump, who previously called Zelensky a 'dictator,' has insisted that he can bring both sides to the table. He has taken credit for the recent talks in Turkey—though neither delegation made concessions—and is open to the idea of a summit that could include himself, Zelensky, and Putin. But his critics say such overtures ring hollow without a clear strategy. They argue that Trump's equivocations, praise for Putin, and attacks on Ukraine's leadership have only muddled U.S. policy.
'This war doesn't have to go on,' Blumenthal told TIME. 'Trump doesn't have to remain silent.'
Write to Nik Popli at nik.popli@time.com.
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